Gigolas Week 2
Culture Clash
Strange, how much time and energy mortals spend on death.
Or, at least, Legolas thinks so.
The first time he sees a true funeral of Man (not a hasty memorial on the road as was done for Boromir) the Three Hunters were in Rohan, with a Wizard who ironically had been dead until but days before.
The basics are not dissimilar from Elves. The hroa is buried, safely away so that animals will not despoil the remains. The people offer up songs of mourning and talk of the great deeds of the dead. It is after the funeral, that Legolas notices the difference.
Men revered the bodies of their fallen as much as their memories. They not only kept the bodies interned near their homes, but they frequently visit the tombs, and might spend countless hours talking—talking! As though their deceased loved ones might speak to them in return.
It was all very silly to Legolas. Elves would never linger thusly. Why would they? To mourn the loss of a friend or spouse too soon departed was one thing. Even if the grief was so great that they themselves found their own way to Mandos, an Elf would never linger so long with the empty hroar of the dead. The fea is ever still alive, it's new journey begun. Elves are forever, with or without a body.
Yes, it was a silly thing to do, but Legolas keeps these thoughts to himself.
Later, Legolas realizes that Men fear death. This is even more silly. Oh, yes, no sane Elf would think so little of their physical wellbeing as to recklessly throw their hroa away, but the death of Man was a gift. That is what they have been told. "The gift of Illuvatar." How could a gift be so dreadful? Elves could spend forever in the Halls of Mandos before being released, and even then they are still tied to the Earth.
It is fear of the unknown. Legolas realizes it during the Battle of Helm's Deep. There is so much uncertainty. So little hope. Men do not know for certain what happens to their souls, as they call them. Legolas is certain that they do not linger.
Right?
Then there was Gimli.
Gimli. A Dwarf. His precious dwarf. He had not the same ideas of Men. Dwarves had no promise—save for their adamant claims that they had been promised a place by their creator. Elves cannot verify the validity of the claim. Nor can Men. But Dwarves do not need their validation. Dwarves have an unshakeable faith that their Lord will stand with them.
It seems that Men have traded faith for fear.
Legolas thinks that Gimli might be more sensible. If Dwarves are so certain of their Maker, they must also believe that souls will not linger among the living. Then they approach the Paths of the Dead, and Gimli is shaken like he had never seen before, shattering this illusion.
Legolas does not understand.
Surely though, these souls are only here because of the curse laid upon them? Nothing more. They dissipate once they are released from it. There is nothing to fear.
After the war, Legolas is with Gimli, always. He witnesses Dwarven traditions more closely than any Elf has in several millennia. It seems Dwarves are just as silly as Men. Even more so, for Dwarves do not only bury their kin, but they lay among the deceased many worldly possessions. What do the dead care for such objects? But Legolas does not say this aloud, especially not as his love spends time at the tomb of his king, tombs of his friends, and much later the tombs of his parents.
Many years pass and Legolas sees that Gimli has grown old. The time has gone by so fast for Legolas, but it's been near a lifetime for his Dwarf. Legolas finds himself wondering what Gimli will take to his tomb. He does not want to find out.
He takes his love to the Undying Lands. It is beautiful there. Gimli seems hale as ever, despite the grey of his beard and the wrinkles upon his face. They are happy, but it is not a reprieve from death. Gimli still grows older. He will still die. And he will need a tomb.
When Gimli dies, Legolas still does not understand this silliness of Men and Dwarves.
It doesn't stop him from visiting.